1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cooking accessories and more specifically to a rack for efficiently positioning a plurality of food slabs.
2. Antecedents of the Invention
Various cooking accessories have been employed for positioning uncooked food items over a grill or other cooking surface. Typical examples include the rack system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,224, assigned to the assignee of the instant invention and the cooking basket disclosed in U.S. Pat. Des. 416,165, also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. It has also been proposed to lay ears of corn horizontally across a plurality of cradles formed in spaced wire supports for cooking on an outdoor barbecue grill, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,862.
Cooking accessories have also been proposed for vertically supporting poultry as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,131, as well as corn, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,585.
Because of geometric limitations on the quantity of foods which could be simultaneously cooked in a horizontal position, the employment of racks has been suggested for holding a plurality of uncooked food slabs in an upright position, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,023 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,153. Certain disadvantages accompanied these prior rack systems, however. For example, the rack system of U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,153 comprised a unitary welded structure which occupied significant storage space and posed problems with respect to cleaning after usage.
The rack system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,023 posed similar problems with respect to its unitary structure which hindered cleaning. Further, a significant disadvantage of this rack system included the fact that slabs of uncooked food having a length less than the span between longitudinal side bars would fall through the rack.